Cambridge University Library

How to avoid plagiarismDr. Emma CoonanResearch Skills Librarian, Cambridge University Library

Varsity survey

Varsity, 31 October 2008

What is it?

… submitting as one’s own work that which derives in part or in its entirety from the work of others without due acknowledgement.

(University of Cambridge 2009)

… passing off someone else’s work as your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, for your own benefit.

(Carroll 2002, p.40)

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Examples of plagiarism

• quoting verbatim another person’s work without due acknowledgement of the source

• paraphrasing another person’s work by changing some of the words, or the order of the words, without due acknowledgement of the source

• using ideas taken from someone else without reference to the originator

• cutting and pasting from the Internet to make a pastiche of online sources

• submitting someone else’s work as part of a candidate’s own without identifying clearly who did the work

www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism/students/statement.html

(University of Cambridge, 2008)

The bottom line

Ensuring that your readers can distinguish between your own and others’ thinking means that you:

• Give credit for the work you have built on

• Get credit for the work you have done yourself

Case study: inadvertent plagiarism

• Student lost track of time and could not locate useful resources close to deadline

• Searched the internet, avoiding essay banks

• Cut-and-pasted information for own reference, but didn’t identify text as direct quotation

• Paraphrased sources, but didn’t cite properly

Case study: inadvertent plagiarism

Detection software found a high match with an internet source and identified the work as plagiarised …

… and identified the student as a plagiarist.

What caused it?

• Problems locating resources

• Poor evaluation of website content

• Note-taking issues

• Poor citation practice

Finding and evaluating resources

Get to know your sources

• Talk to your supervisor/DoS

• Explore the eresources@cambridge subject lists: www.lib.cam.ac.uk/electronicresources

Know where to find help

• Talk to librarians

• Find classes and online study skills modules: www.skills.cam.ac.uk

Note-taking

Make sure you can identify:

• Which parts of your notes are quotations (including single significant words)

• Which parts are paraphrases of the author’s points

• Which parts of your own writing are a response to the argument or directly inspired by ideas in the text

Will you be able to tell the difference in a month’s time?

Paraphrasing (‘patchworking’)

Mixing other people’s ideas and words in with your own:

• shows you have read and assimilated the required reading

• strengthens your argument

• allows you to maintain your ‘flow’ of writing

But where you have drawn on someone else’s work you must always cite it.

Common scenarios

Scenario 1

I copied the material straight from the web because my English is not very good, and I wanted to make sure you understood what I was trying to say.

“”

(Collins 2002, p.21)

Scenario 2

It is my work. I’ve changed the words in the article to my own. Isn’t that enough? “ ”

(Collins 2002, p.43)

Scenario 3

I had a student this week who admitted the plagiarism but said he wasn’t to blame because the person he copied from didn’t tell him it was plagiarised …

“”

(Collins 2002, p.5)

Referencing

© evaxebra www.flickr.com

In-text citation: a short ‘pointer’ to the full entry at the point in your text where

you quote or paraphrase

PLUS

Full entry in a bibliography or reference list: this entry should contain all the details necessary for a

reader to follow up your sources.

You must give both parts of the reference to avoid committing plagiarism.

A reference consists of two elements

In-text citations

These may appear actually in your text, as parenthetical citations –

“In a recent study of parenthetical citation practice (Walker, 2007) argued that …”

- or as footnotes or endnotes1.

(Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page; endnotes at the end of your paper or dissertation.)

1. Anthony Grafton, The Footnote: A Curious History (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997).

Reference list vs. bibliography

• References = works cited

Only contains the items you’ve made specific reference to in your work

• Bibliography = works consulted

A list of everything you read to prepare for the assignment. It contains all the items you’ve cited plus sources that you found useful but didn’t cite

(Neville 2007, pp.13-14)

Citation styles

Your school or department will probably have a preferred or citation style. It might even be mandatory to use a particular style.

Do you know which one you should use …

… or where to find out?

www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism/students/depts.html

Where do you draw the line?

More on when to reference

• Common knowledge

• Secondary referencing

• Autoplagiarism

Common knowledge

You don’t need to cite a source if you’re stating a fact that:

• is widely accessible - you may not know the total population of China, but you would be able to find the answer easily from numerous sources

• is likely to be known by a lot of people

• can be found in a general reference resource, such as a dictionary or encyclopedia

www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism/students/referencing/commonknowledge.html

(University of Cambridge, 2008)

Common knowledge

Statement: Pterosaurs were the flying reptiles of the dinosaur age

Citation: ‘Everyone' knows this, so no citation is needed.

Statement: Even the largest pterosaurs may have been able to take off simply by spreading their wings whilst facing into a moderate breeze.

Citation: Wilkinson, M.T., Unwin, D.M. and Ellington, C.P. (2005). High lift function of the pteroid bone and forewings of pterosaurs. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

(University of Cambridge, 2008)

Secondary referencing

• You find a useful quotation from another source in the item you’re reading, and can’t locate the original source.

• Make it clear in your text that you are relying on an intermediary source!

Murray’s conclusion (2003, p.65) supported the views of White (2001) on genetic abnormalities in crops.“ ”

(Pears & Shields, 2005)

Autoplagiarism

Where to get help …

• School or department referencing guidelines (essential!)

• University Offices: plagarism informationwww.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism

• Skills directory:www.skills.cam.ac.uk

• CUSU study skills: www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/academic/studyskills

• Libraries and librarianswww.lib.cam.ac.uk/Courses and departmental library sites

Bibliography

Carroll, Jude. A Handbook for Deterring Plagiarism in Higher Education. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, 2002.

Li, Xia. Electronic Style: A Guide to Citing Electronic Information. Westport: Meckler, 1993.

Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College: How to Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism, and Achieve Real Academic Success. 2nd ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2008.

Neville, Colin. The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism. 3 January 2007. http://www.myilibrary.com/Browse/open.asp?ID=112960&loc=i (accessed 30 January 2009).

Bibliography

Pears, Richard, and Graham Shields. Cite Them Right: the Essential Referencing Guide. Rev. ed. Newcastle: Pear Tree, 2008.

Stothard, Michael. “‘1 in 2’ Admits to Plagiarism.” Varsity 31 Oct. 2008: 1-2.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 7th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2007.

Research Skills Programme

At www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Courses/ you can …

• Find our timetable of subject-based sessions

• Book for hands-on information skills classes

• Request one-to-one training

• Download these slides and other handouts

E-mail us at research-skills@lib.cam.ac.uk